Zydus' ZyCoV-D Is World's First Plasmid DNA COVID Vaccine: All You Need To Know
Ahmedabad-based pharmaceutical major, Cadila Healthcare also known as Zydus Cadila, is all set to introduce its COVID-19 vaccines in the country.
Zydus Cadila announced that the company has applied for emergency use authorisation (EUA) to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) for ZyCoV-D.
"We expect to produce 1 crore vaccine doses per month from August onwards and 5 crore doses by December this year. Our target is to produce 10-12 crore vaccine doses in a year," Managing Director of Cadila Healthcare Dr Sharvil Patel said.
If approved, ZyCoV-D will become the second home-grown COVID-19 vaccine after Bharat Biotech's Covaxin; and the fourth to get a DCGI nod for use against the viral infection in India after Covishield, Covaxin and Sputnik V.
World's first DNA vaccine?
Unlike other existing vaccines, ZyCoV-D is administered needle-free and is the world's first DNA vaccine against Covid.
ZyCoV-D is a three-dose, intradermal vaccine, and is needle-free, also leading to a significant reduction in any kind of side effects. Interim analysis has shown it to be 66.6 per cent effective for symptomatic RT-PCR positive cases.
"This breakthrough marks a key milestone in scientific innovation and advancement in technology. As the first ever plasmid DNA vaccine for human use, ZyCoV-D has proven its safety and efficacy profile in our fight against Covid-19," said Dr Patel.
"The vaccine, when approved, will help not only adults but also adolescents in the 12 to 18 years age group," he added.
How it works
ZyCoV-D is a plasmid DNA vaccine which when injected produces the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and elicits an immune response mediated by the cellular and humoral arms of the human immune system, which play a vital role in protection from disease as well as viral clearance.
The Covid-19 vaccine was also tested in the adolescent population in the 12-18 years age group in India and was found to be safe and very well tolerated.
What clinical trials say
ZyCoV-D had already exhibited a robust immunogenicity and tolerability and safety profile in the adaptive Phase I/II clinical trials carried out earlier. Both the Phase I/II and Phase III clinical trials have been monitored by an independent Data Safety Monitoring Board.
The vaccine is stored at 2-8 degrees Celsius but has shown good stability at temperatures of 25 degrees Celsius for at least three months. The thermostability of the vaccine will help in easy transportation and storage of the vaccine and reduce any cold chain breakdown challenges leading to vaccine wastage, the company has said.
The plasmid DNA platform also provides ease of manufacturing with minimal biosafety requirements (BSL-1). The Plasmid DNA platform also allows generating new constructs quickly to deal with mutations in the virus, such as those already occurring.
The company has also evaluated a two-dose regimen for ZyCoV-D vaccine using a 3 mg dose per visit and the immunogenicity results had been found to be equivalent to the current three-dose regimen. This will further help in reducing the full course duration of vaccination while maintaining the high safety profile of the vaccine in the future.
